I wish I could say I prayed bold, eloquent prayers for my first child—but I did not.
My desperate pleas sounded more like:
Lord, I do not want this child to turn out like me.
Lord, I have no clue what to do.
Help me!
Looking back, I wish I had prayed earlier. I wish I would have prayed scripture sooner over my children. I wish I would have had an older, godly woman speaking into my life at that time, showing me how to pray and what to pray.
If you are one of those young moms, navigating these uncharted waters of motherhood, I want to encourage you and lead you to a life of prayer for your child. My advice? Just start! Begin by praying one verse a week for your newborn. Speak God’s word over your expanding belly or as you nurse your newborn.
Find a quiet place. Maybe the rocking chair in the nursery or in the middle of the night during feeding time. Speak to God. Tell him your dreams for your child. Pray a scripture for your child then trust God to act.
Below are some scriptures to establish a life of prayer for your child.
May _____________ love the Lord her God with all her heart and with all her soul and with all her mind and with all her strength. Mark 12:30
May ____________ praise you because he is fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14
Make known to __________the path of life; fill ________ with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11
Show __________ your ways, O Lord, teach __________ your paths, guide her in your truth and teach _________, for you are __________’s God and Savior, may _________’s hope be in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5
I pray that __________ may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:10
Lord, may you, the God of hope, fill _____________ with all joy and peace as he trusts in you, so that ____________ may overflow with hope by the power of your Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
May ______________ trust in the Lord with all her heart and not lean on her own understanding. May ___________ in all her ways, acknowledge you and you will make her paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
Lord, may ___________ follow his father’s advice and not wander from my teachings. May she wrap herself in them from head to toe and wear them like a scarf around her neck. Proverbs 6:20-21 (MSG)
May _________ grow and become strong; may he be filled with wisdom and may the grace of God be upon him. Luke 2:40
Don’t let the enemy fool you into thinking your prayers don’t matter. Don’t think because nothing is happening that God is not working. Not true.
Pray expectantly. Wait patiently. Trust fully. Then sit back and watch God work.
How can I pray for you?